SUMMARY: [From BN] Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War
I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they
have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the
trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast
to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that
meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different
uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.

THOUGHTS: I decided to read this after The Fiance and I watch the History Series "The World Wars." I don't know why I avoided this classic for so long - it was very readable, even if the ending left me feeling a bit "blah." Despite my qualms with the very last pages of the book, I can understand why this book is considered one of the best novels about war. The brotherhood, devastation, and futility of it comes across clearly and, on some pages, in a highly emotional manner.

What made me think the most about this book is that if you changed the names and locations, it could be any war and any side. How I missed reading this in High School is beyond me. Of all the books they make you read, this one would have actually meant something to juniors and seniors.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

I spent most of this week discovering just how far was "walking distance" from our new apartment. The answer: TBA. I, apparently will walk anywhere - even in the heat. For example, I took the day off on Wednesday to switch over my MD license for a DC one. I walked from our place near the Zoo to the Georgetown DMV. There, I was told I needed to visit the Social Security Office because of some recent rule change about names needing to match exactly on documents. So I walked to said office. Then I walked back to the DMV. Then I walked home. All told, I clocked 6 miles before lunch. Awesome for my FitBit stats, not so great on my disgruntled left knee. Also, I feel asleep before 11 that night. Whoops.

Magazines

Inside Weddings, Spring 2014 - I picked up this issue from the newstand because it was a new wedding title to me. No articles stood out, but I enjoyed how the structure of the magazine reminded me of some of my favorite wedding blogs. There was some stunning weddings featured, as well.

Books

I'm slowly, oh so slowly, putting a dent in Written in My Own Heart's Blood. I need to read it faster so that my coworker and I can chat about it. I have a sneaking suspicion this book is going to make me cry.

Friday, July 25, 2014

FIRST SENTENCE: When it became clear to Vincent Hunt, Viscount Darleigh, that if he stayed at home for the remainder of the spring he would without any doubt at all be betrothed, even married, before summer had properly settled in, he fled.

SUMMARY: [From BN] Desperate to escape his mother’s matchmaking, Vincent Hunt, Viscount Darleigh, flees to a remote country village. But even there, another marital trap is sprung. So when Miss Sophia Fry’s intervention on his behalf finds her unceremoniously booted from her guardian’s home, Vincent is compelled to act. He may have been blinded in battle, but he can see a solution to both their problems: marriage. At first, quiet, unassuming Sophia rejects Vincent’s proposal. But when such a gloriously handsome man persuades her that he needs a wife of his own choosing as much as she needs protection from destitution, she agrees. Her alternative is too dreadful to contemplate. But how can an all-consuming fire burn from such a cold arrangement? As friendship and camaraderie lead to sweet seduction and erotic pleasure, dare they believe a bargain born of desperation might lead them both to a love destined to be?

THOUGHTS: You know, for being a romance novel, this was not very romance-y. I like this book because it was not typical at all. The hero and heroine do get together in typical romance novel fashion, but the rest of the book is a pretty straightforward tale about getting a marriage off the ground. I enjoyed this book immensely because it felt realistic for the era. Kudos to Ms. Balogh.

I very rarely pick-up a book based on a review alone. I'm too much of a mood reader for that. This morning, as I was commuting to work, I listened to a review of Tigerman on All Things Considered. It was, hands-down, these best book review I have ever encountered.

Tigerman is not my normal kind of book, but I want to read it based on this review alone.

Please, please, please listen to it. You won't regret it. The first 30-seconds of the review may be one of the best things I've ever heard.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

I've been seeing advertisements for the new Helen Mirren film, The Hundred Foot Journey, on TV lately. It looks right up my alley and I plan on, at the very least, adding it to my Netflix queue. The movie is adapted from a book of the same name. This got me thinking about adaptations - specifically, blogs that are now books (of some sort).

With the humor of Bridget Jones and the vitality of Augusten Burroughs,
Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking
and saved her soul.Julie Powell is 30 years old, living in a tiny
apartment in Queens and working at a soul-sucking secretarial job that's
going nowhere. She needs something to break the monotony of her life,
and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother's worn,
dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking,
and she will cook all 524 recipes -- in the span of one year.At first
she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage
Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and
crepes, she realizes there's more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking
than meets the eye.And somewhere along the line she realizes she has
turned her outer-borough kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine.
She has eclipsed her life's ordinariness through spectacular humor,
hysteria, and perseverance

As a college grad during the recent great recession, Beth Moncel found
herself, like so many others, broke. Unwilling to sacrifice eating
healthy and well—and armed with a degree in nutritional science—Beth
began tracking her costs with obsessive precision, and soon cut her
grocery bill in half. Eager to share her tips and recipes, she launched
her blog, Budget Bytes. Soon the blog received millions of readers
clamoring for more.
Beth's eagerly awaited cookbook proves cutting back on cost does not mean cutting back on taste. Budget Bytes
has more than 100 simple, healthy, and delicious recipes, including
Greek Steak Tacos, Coconut Chicken Curry, Chorizo Sweet Potato
Enchilada, and Teriyaki Salmon with Sriracha Mayonnaise, to name a few.
It also contains expert principles for saving in the kitchen—including
how to combine inexpensive ingredients with expensive to ensure that you
can still have that steak you’re craving, and information to help
anyone get acquainted with his or her kitchen and get maximum use out of
the freezer. Whether you’re urban or rural, vegan or paleo, Budget Bytes is guaranteed to delight both the palate and the pocketbook.

Pamela Slim, a
former corporate training manager, left her office job twelve years ago
to go solo and has enjoyed every bit of it. In her groundbreaking book, based
on her popular blog Escape from Cubicle Nation, Slim explores both the
emotional issues of leaving the corporate world and the nuts and bolts
of launching a business. Drawing on her own career, as well as stories
from her coaching clients and blog readers, Slim will help readers weigh
their options, and make a successful escape if they decide to go for
it.

Rules For My Unborn Son is a
collection of traditional, humorous, and urbane fatherly advice for
boys. From the sartorial ("If you are tempted to wear a cowboy hat,
resist") to the practical ("Keep a copy of your letters. It makes it
easier for your biographer") to even a couple of sure-fire hangover
cures ("There is no better remedy than a dip in the ocean"), the book of
rules and accompanying quotations is quite simply an instruction manual
for becoming a Good Man - industrious, thoughtful, charming, and of
course, well-dressed. Hip and witty with a decidedly
traditionalist flavor, Rules For My Unborn Son is meant to evoke simpler
times when Father knew best and a suitable answer to "Why?" was
"Because I said so."

When Jenny Lawson was little, all
she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her
fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It
did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the
strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for
it.

In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,
Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the
surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we
want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us
the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they
were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out
loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing,
yet wonderful moments of our lives.

They love nothing better than sipping free-trade gourmet coffee, leafing through the Sunday New York Times,
and listening to David Sedaris on NPR (ideally all at the same time).
Apple products, indie music, food co-ops, and vintage T-shirts make them
weak in the knees. They believe they’re unique, yet
somehow they’re all exactly the same, talking about how they “get” Sarah
Silverman’s “subversive” comedy and Wes Anderson’s “droll” films.
They’re also down with diversity and up on all the best microbrews,
breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi. They’re organic,
ironic, and do not own TVs. You know who they are: They’re
white people. And they’re here, and you’re gonna have to deal.
Fortunately, here’s a book that investigates, explains, and offers
advice for finding social success with the Caucasian persuasion. So kick
back on your IKEA couch and lose yourself in the ultimate guide to the
unbearable whiteness of being.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

You know what I love? Summer days where the weather is unexpectedly beautiful. DC had a few of those this week. It was lovely. This week made me miss having a patio because it meant I could not read outside. (I forgot about the rooftop deck the apartment has until just now. I shall endeavor to remember!)

Food Network, July/August 2014 - This was a pretty scrumptious looking issue. I pulled a recipe for Kielbasa Grilled Cheese. Yum. Our new apartment does not have outdoor grilling space (le sigh), so I could only look longingly at some of the summer grilling recipes.

Books

I managed to read several chapters of Written in My Own Heart's Blood this week. Now if only I could make to stay awake longer. I might be able to put a bigger dent in it.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

I am SO HAPPY to be done with moving. I am covered in bruises and most of them came from Comcast. Grumblegrumblegrumble. At least everything is up and running and we're pretty much done unpacking. It's going to take awhile for the new place to feel like home, but I'll get there.

Spending 8+ hours on the phone with Comcast did not leave much time for reading, but I did manage to tackle the following:

Magazines

National Geographic, July 2014 - Astronomy! Love it. The "Life Beyond Earth" article was right up my alley. I also squeed when I saw this issue contained another installment of Paul Salopek's walk around the globe. Lastly, I was impressed by the piece on goliath groupers partly because I had listed to an NPR interview about aquaculture the same day.

Books

I finished All Quiet on the Western Front. Full review at some point.

I started reading the most recent book in the Outlander series, Written In My Own Heart's Blood. I'm flying through it but this sucker is nearly 900 pages long. It may take me all summer to finish it. That's okay! I love Diana Gabaldon.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Have you ever been to the Library of Congress? It is a stunningly beautiful building. If it weren't frowned upon, I would go to the main reading room and lie down on the floor so I could stare up at this:

Friday, July 04, 2014

The Fiance and I picked up the keys to our new apartment on Tuesday. We love it. Huzzah! We are not so thrilled about the predicted heat and humidity for moving day. Boo. At least it will be over in a few hours.

Then I get to do my most favorite part of moving - decorating. I may have to add this candle to our shopping list to make the new digs feel more like home.